System and method for obtaining closure of sterile backed surgical gowns

ABSTRACT

A pressure-sensitive closure assistance system and method particularly useful in connection with surgical gowns requiring a sterile surface on the back of the gown. The closure may comprise a snap fastener or other pressure-sensitive closure such as those comprised of tapes or hook and loop type elements. In accordance with the invention, a cover made of paper or the like encloses a closure element, and an assistant who need not be sterile-gloved may grasp a folded edge of the cover. The overlap is then drawn across the back exposing the closure elements which are pressed through the cover to ensure contact between the closure elements. The assistant then may detach the closure assistance tab and discard it. Thus, no part of the back of the gown is required to come in contact with an element which has not been sterilized.

United States Patent Delanty et al.

[ Oct. 29, 1974 CLOSURE 0F STERILE BACKED SURGICAL GOWNS [75] Inventors:John T. Delanty; David Lincoln,

both of Neenah, Wis.

[73] Assignee: Kimberly-Clark, Neenah, Wis.

[22] Filed: July 23, 1973 [211 Appl. No.: 381,417

[52] US. Cl. 2/114, 2/96 [51] Int. Cl A4lb 9/00 [58] Field of Search2/114, DIG. 7, 96, 128

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,259,9l3 7/1966 Tames 2/1l4 3,359,569 l2/l967 Rotunz ct a] 3,72l,999 3/l973 Goya et al. 2/l l4SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR OBTAINING Primary ExaminerRichard J. Scanlan, Jr.Attorney, Agent, or Firm- Daniel J. Hanlon, Jr.: li m r Raymo Miller[57] ABSTRACT A pressure-sensitive closure assistance system and methodparticularly useful in connection with surgical gowns requiring asterile surface on the back of the gown. The closure may comprise a snapfastener or other pressure-sensitive closure such as those comprised oftapes or hook and loop type elements. In accordance with the invention,a cover made of paper or the like encloses a closure element, and anassistant who need not be sterile-gloved may grasp a folded edge of thecover. The overlap is then drawn across the back exposing the closureelements which are pressed through the cover to ensure contact betweenthe closure elements. The assistant then may detach the closureassistance tab and discard it. Thus, no part of the back of the gown isrequired to come in contact with an element which has not beensterilized.

5 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures Pmmmmsm 3.843.971

SHEET 20E 3 28 I8 38 4O 42 I8 38 40 42 FIG. 3 FIG. 4

FIG. 5 FIG. 6

PMENYEMm 29 um SREH 3 BF 3 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of theInvention This invention relates generally to devices and methods forclosing garments. More particularly, the invention relates to suchdevices and methods that are especially useful for gowns that are wornby surgeons and other members of hospital operating teams. Specifically,in its preferred embodiment the present invention concerns a closuresystem and method for beltless surgical gowns that enable the garmentsto be closed about the wearer by a non-sterile-gloved person withoutrequiring the use of sterile instruments.

2. Description of the Prior Art When performing surgical operativeprocedures, it is essential for the protection of the patient thatconditions near the operative site be maintained as sterile as possible.For this purpose members of the operating team wear clothing or gownswhich have been sterilized. Such gowns may be made of woven material inwhich case washing and sterilization are required after each use, orthey may be made of nonwoven material, sterilized, and after a singleuse, discarded. In both cases, however, some means must be provided toclose the gown about the wearer so as to prevent exposure of surfacesconsidered to be non-sterile. In order to present a continuous surfaceadjacent the operating site, surgical gowns are generally closed at thewearer's back. Various types of closures have been used, includingsnaps, belts, and adjustable hook and loop type fasteners. Beltlessclosures are especially advantageous in that they do not require a tightwaist and are inherently cool and free from blousing problems. Suchgowns are sold, for example, under the trademark KIMLON byKimberly-Clark Corporation.

Certain surgical procedures require not only that the front of the gownbe sterile but also'that portions of the back of the gown be sterile aswell. In such cases, it has heretofore been necessary to have a sterilegloved person present to close the gowns or that a sterile instrument orthe like be used to make the closure. This problem has been timeconsuming and the source of much inconvenience to surgeons and othermembers of the operating team.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide aclosure system and method for operating room gowns that do not requirethe use of sterile instruments or a sterile gloved person and yetproduce a closure in a manner free from contamination from contact withunsterilized elements.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly, in accordance with the presentinvention, a surgical gown is provided having a beltlesspressuresensitive closure. This closure, in general, includes a femaleelement and a male element which are joined by contact and theapplication of pressure to the outside thus making the closure withoutaffecting the sterile nature of the gown itself. When this is down, thecover is simply removed from the gown and discarded so that the back ofthe gown presents a sterile surface and yet the gown is closed in a cooland comfortable loosefitting fashion. In this manner, the aims andobjects of the invention as hereinabove described, are achieved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I illustrates a gown inaccordance with the present invention prior to completing the closure.

FIG. 2 is a similar illustration of a gown of the invention that hasbeen closed.

FIGS. 36 illustrate sequential steps in forming a closure in accordancewith the invention.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of an exemplary cover for use in theinvention.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the cover as shown in FIG. 7 on afolded gown preparatory to being used.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS While the inventionwill be described in connection with preferred embodiments, it will beunderstood that it is not intended to limit the invention to theseembodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover all alternatives,modifications and equivalents as may be included within the spirit andscope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Turning first to FIGS. 1 and 2, the invention will be described brieflyin terms of its application for use in providing a sterile-back-closureon a disposable surgical gown. As used herein and recognized by thoseskilled in this art, the term sterile-back-closure indicates that thegown has been closed on the wearers back without contact between theunsterilized element and the critical area of the gown which is thatportion of the gown likely to be positioned near the operative siteduring the surgical procedure. While complete sterility may beimpossible to maintain once the gown has been exposed to the atmosphere,avoiding contact with unsterilized elements is recognized as a means togreatly reduce the risk of contamination. In fact, some hospitals go sofar as to require sterile-back-closure gowns for many surgicalprocedures even when contact between the wearers back and the operativesite is highly unlikely.

As illustrated, the gown, generally indicated at 10, is a loose fittinggarment including neck opening 12, sleeves l4, and bottom opening 16. Itmay be formed predominantly of any sterilizable material, but forpurposes of improved asepsis and convenience it is preferred that afluid repellent, low linting, disposable material be used such as ascrim reinforced cellulosic nonwoven manufactured and sold byKimberly-Clark Corporation under the trademark KAYCEL.

In donning the gown, the wearer first substantially unfolds it exceptfor the last fold indicated at 18, which is maintained in an unfoldedcondition particularly in the area of releasable cover 20. The wearerenters the gown through back opening 22 placing his arms into sleeves 14thus fully covering the front of the wearer. An assistant then draws thegown about the wearers back. As illustrated, the gown may have threeclosure fastener members 24, 26, and 28 which mate with opposing members30, 32, and 34, respectively. While these are generally indicated ashook and loop type fasteners, it will be recognized that otherpressuresensitive fasteners such as snaps, or adhesives for example, maybe utilized as well. In the latter case one set of the members may beomitted as the adhesive will adhere directly to the gown material.

As shown in somewhat greater detail by FIGS. 3-6, for example, the hookand loop type fasteners comprise female loop members 24, 26, and 28 andhook type male members 30, 32, and 34. Fastening is accomplished bypressing the male and female surfaces together and interlocking thehooks with the loops. Such fasteners are well known and will not befurther described. As shown and further described in copending U.S. Ser.No. 352,244, Disposable Gown with Multiple Flaps and Closures" byAngelica G. Green filed 18 Apr. 1973 as a Continuation of Ser. No.158,299 filed 30 June, 1971, both of which are assigned to the presentassignee of the instant application the size of one of the sets of themembers may be selected so as to provide a certain degree ofadjustability in forming the closure, particularly since this type offastener may be opened and refastened. For these reasons, the hook andloop type fastener is advantageous.

Referring still particularly to FIGS. 3-6, the present invention will bedescribed in conjunction with the forming of a sterile-back-closure. Theneck portion of the gown is not considered sterile and, therefore, theneck fastener need not be closed by sterile means and can be done by thecirculating nurse or other available assistant not previouslysterile-gloved. Also, since the inside surface of the gown is notconsidered sterile, the inside waist closure may be made by grasping thefolded waist portion of the gown, pulling it across the wearers back andpressing male member 32 onto female member 26 through the folded panel36 thus avoiding contact with the outside back portion of the gown. Forthis purpose adhesive tape 42 maintains fold 18 in the closure area. Itis primarily with the closure of members 28 and 34 that particular caremust be exercised in order to prevent contamination of the outside backsurface critical area of the gown. ln forming this final fasteningaccording to the present invention, the releasable cover is grasped asshown, for example, in FIG. 3. For ease of handling the cover mayinclude folded flap 38 that extends for gripping of the cover 20. Thiscover is releasably attached to the inside surface of the folded gownpanel 36 as by means of pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes 40, forexample. The additional adhesive tape 42 may be used to maintain thegown panel 36 in a folded condition. If used, preferably this adhesivetape 42 is provided with notches 44 as illustrated or some otherweakening line such as perforations to allow it to be easily severed.After grasping the cover, the flap 38 is drawn firmly upward across theback of the wearer, thus tearing tape 42 and beginning the unfolding ofpanel 36, as shown in FIG. 4. At this time the edge of panel 36 isgrasped through the cover as shown in FIG. 5 and drawn across the backof the wearer unfolding it so that male element 34 is positioned overfemale element 28 and is shown in FIG. 6. To complete the fastening,pressure is applied through the cover to the male and female portions,and the cover is separated from the gown and discarded. As described,the closure has been made without contact of the exposed back portion ofthe gown with anything that is non-sterile.

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate the preferred releasable cover construction isgreater detail. Materials such as paper, plastic, cloth, and the likemay be used to form the cover so long as it can be sterilized andprovides a barrier to the passage of bacteria during the period of use.As shown, the cover may be printed or otherwise contain indiciaproviding instructions as to its use. While pressure-sensitive adhesivetapes have been illustrated as the attaching means, they are preferredonly for cost purposes, and it will be apparent that other releasableattaching devices may be utilized as well. As shown, the cover ispreferably Z-folded and larger than the closure element which itprotects so as to extend on both sides of panel 36 and also provide aflap 38 for ease of gripping the cover. The notched tape 42 ispreferably placed over tape 40 as illustrated to increase the protectionagainst premature release of the cover. Also, pressure-sensitive tapes40 are placed close to the edge of folded panel 36 and preferably withinabout one-fourth inch of this edge for ease of removing the cover afterthe closure has been formed.

Thus, it is apparent that there has been provided in accordance with theinvention a gown closure system and method that fully satisfy theobjects, aims, and advantages set forth above. While the invention hasbeen described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof, it isevident that many alternatives, modifications, and variations will beapparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoingdescription. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all suchalternatives, modifications, and variations as fall within the spiritand broad scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a garment for use in reducing the risk of contamination, saidgarment including a front panel adapted to cover the front of thewearer, a back panel for covering the back of said wearer, a top neckopening, a bottom opening, said back panel having an opening for donningsaid gown between said top and bottom openings comprising panels, one ofwhich is folded, and adapted to form an overlapped closure of said backopening, and pressure sensitive means on said folded panel for obtainingsaid back closure,

the improvement wherein said pressure sensitive closure means includes aprotective cover releasable from said garment over said pressuresensitive means and folded about the edge of said panel containing saidpressure sensitive means so as to provide means for gripping said cover.

2. The garment of claim 1 wherein said releasable protective cover isZ-folded so that one fold is about the edge of said opening and theother fold provides a flap for gripping said cover.

3. The garment of claim 1 further including additional closure elementsand means for maintaining said outward fold to protect said garmentoutside surface from contamination when closing said additional closureelements and thereafter releasing said outward fold.

4. The garment of claim 1 wherein said pressure sensitive meanscomprises a hook and loop type fastener.

5. The garment of claim 1 wherein said pressure sen-

1. In a garment for use in reducing the risk of contamination, saidgarment including a front panel adapted to cover the front of thewearer, a back panel for covering the back of said wearer, a top neckopening, a bottom opening, said back panel having an opening for donningsaid gown between said top and bottom openings comprising panels, one ofwhich is folded, and adapted to form an overlapped closure of said backopening, and pressure sensitive means on said folded panel for obtainingsaid back closure, the improvement wherein said pressure sensitiveclosure means includes a protective cover releasable from said garmentover said pressure sensitive means and folded about the edge of saidpanel containing said pressure sensitive means so as to provide meansfor gripping said cover.
 2. The garment of claim 1 wherein saidreleasable protective cover is Z-folded so that one fold is about theedge of said opening and the other fold provides a flap for grippingsaid cover.
 3. The garment of claim 1 further including additionalclosure elements and means for maintaining said outward fold to protectsaid garment outside surface from contamination when closing saidadditional closure elements and thereafter releasing said outward fold.4. The garment of claim 1 wherein said pressure sensitive meanscomprises a hook and loop type fastener.
 5. The garment of claim 1wherein said pressure sensitive means comprises an adhesive fastener.